by Lynn Howard
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
His smile faltered but didn’t fall immediately. “I wanted to talk to you when you woke up.”
Campbell frowned. “About what?”
“About your question last night.”
Her question. What had she asked? They’d watched movies, she’d laid her head on his lap, and, apparently, had fallen asleep. She vaguely remembered him carrying her to her room as she dreamed of flying.
And then…
With an embarrassed groan, Campbell flopped back against the bed and threw an arm over her eyes. “That was real?”
Soft chuckles answered her.
“Where’s Polo?” She no more got his name out of her mouth before her big, furry baby jumped on the bed and licked her face until she giggled.
“We went for a walk and got you some donuts and real coffee.”
“What’s wrong with my coffee?” Campbell asked, lifting her head to glare at Brax.
“It’s not coffee.” He carried the mug over to the bed and waved it under her nose. “That’s how coffee is supposed to smell, by the way.”
Damn, that smelled good. Rich and warm. And… “Wait. You got donuts?” She sat up and lunged from the bed.
Brax’s eyes roamed her body before shooting back up to her face. “You should get dressed and I’ll make you a cup of coffee to go with your donuts,” he said, turning his back and pulling the door closed behind him.
She hadn’t missed the flames burning bright in his eyes as he’d turned away. Glancing down at her body, she tried to see what he saw – strong, toned legs, if not slightly altered by the gashes covered by bandages. Taut belly with a small, womanly pooch. Small, but perky boobs. And all of that was covered with a tiny pair of sleep shorts and a thin tank top. As she stepped closer to the mirror, she almost swallowed her damn tongue; her nipples were visible through the fabric and were puckered tight and straining against the cotton.
No wonder he refused to look at her for too long. He was trying to control himself while she sat there half naked.
What man wouldn’t take every opportunity to ogle her when she was dressed like that? She’d never had a man who would turn away instead of getting an eyeful of her body. She appreciated his need to be a gentleman, but what if it was more than that? What if, while he admitted to having feelings for her and even being attracted to her, he didn’t actually want to touch her? To kiss her and make love to her?
Campbell grabbed a clean pair of clothes and shuffled as quickly as her leg would let her to the bathroom for a quick shower. After getting clean and washing her hair, she applied more antibiotic goo to her leg and rebandaged it, then pulled on a loose pair of sweats and a sweatshirt.
Padding barefoot down the hall, she found Brax scratching Polo behind his ear, the big Rott’s nub wagging a mile a minute.
“As you can tell, he’s super neglected of attention,” she said dryly, passing the traitor and his new friend as she headed for sustenance in the shape of sugar and caffeine.
“Already poured you a cup,” Brax offered from the doorway, Polo at his feet.
As Campbell lifted the mug to her lips, she narrowed her eyes down at the dog. “Since when do animals like Shifters. I mean, seriously. It’s one thing for him to tolerate you since you’ve been taking him for walks.”
Brax shrugged. “I’m a likable guy.”
That he was. He’d made her doubt everything she’d felt and thought since Caren’s death.
“Thanks for the donuts and coffee. You still haven’t answered why you’re back so early.”
“I didn’t leave last night,” he said, his eyes dropping to his feet before raising again.
“You spent the night?”
She waited for anger to rush her system. He’d invited himself for a sleepover while she was vulnerable. She’d had no idea he was still there. He could’ve done anything to her and she wouldn’t have known.
Nah. She would’ve woken if he’d touched her or even tried to crawl in bed with her. Even if she hadn’t, she was convinced Polo would’ve stopped him or at least alerted her.
Then again, her dog had apparently taking a liking to the sexy man watching her and waiting for her reaction.
“Why?”
“Why did I spend the night?” Campbell nodded. “It was late. And you crashed pretty hard last night so I wanted to make sure you were okay. And…I wanted to be near you.”
He wanted to be near her. Creepy yet romantic. In a creepy way, of course. At least he didn’t watch her snore and drool all over her pillow all night.
“I couldn’t lock the deadbolts without taking your keys. So I stayed behind to make sure you were safe. Don’t be mad.”
His lips twitched but he didn’t smile. It was more of an uncertain, nervous reaction. The dude was always smiling.
“I guess thanks,” she said. “Donuts. You said there were donuts.” She’d grabbed her mug of coffee from the counter but hadn’t seen anything that resembled pastries.
Brax’s smile was back as he turned and grabbed a white box from the small dining table. Carrying them to Campbell, he set the box on the coffee table and pulled the lid back. There was a pretty wide variety including glazed, long john’s, even some with sprinkles.
Grabbing a long john, she shoved half of it in her mouth, her eyes rolling shut as the overly sweet chocolate hit her tongue. Moaning her approval, she opened her eyes to find Brax staring at her, those pretty eyes lit up again.
Campbell swallowed hard at the intense expression on Brax’s face. She was showered and her teeth were brushed. She could easily beckon him over with a crook of her finger.
Yet she couldn’t seem to make herself do just that.
“Stop staring at me,” she said, forcing a smile on her lips.
“You’re so fucking sexy. How do you make even pigging out sexy? Seriously. That should’ve been a turn off. Instead, my – " He glanced down at his crotch and cut himself off.
He didn’t need to finish. Campbell knew exactly what he was going to say, or at least she assumed.
It helped her doubt about whether or not Brax wanted her sexually.
Two choices: Campbell could set her donut down and invite Brax into her bedroom. Or…
Shoving the rest of the long john into her mouth, she made sure to puff out her cheeks and widened her eyes. Brax huffed out a surprised laugh. Around a mouthful, she said, “Still sexy?”
Brax erupted into guffaws and chuckles, even wiped his eyes as tears of laughter formed.
“You’re too much.”
After a few minutes, he calmed down and sat, diving into the box of sugar he’d brought. They ate in relative silence, only commenting on the tastiness of each one they’d eaten. Before long, though, the box was empty. Which meant so were their mouths.
And Campbell had questions.
As Brax carried the empty container into the kitchen to throw away, Campbell pulled her feet under her and pulled the blanket over her legs.
And as he’d done the last couple of times, he sat on the far end of the couch, keeping his hands folded in his lap as he stretched his long legs and crossed his ankles.
“You can come closer,” Campbell said after a few seconds.
He turned to look at her, that glow entering his eyes again. “You sure?”
“Brax. You literally told me three nights ago that this weird connection thing I’ve been feeling is fate or whatever pulling is together. I don’t know about you, but there’s no one else who’s ever made me feel like I was missing a part of myself when they weren’t around.”
That glow grew brighter. “You do?”
She hated admitting it to herself, let alone to him. “Yeah. You don’t feel that way?”
“That’s part of the reason I stayed last night. I hate being away from you as much as I hate to think of you in danger. I couldn’t leave without knowing you were locked in as much as possible. But mainly, it… it almost hurts when we’re apart.”
>
Campbell chewed on the inside of her cheek. Then, “You don’t think any of this is weird?”
“Which part?” he asked, his dark brows lowering.
“We’ve known each other for three weeks. We’ve barely spent a few days out of those three weeks together. You don’t think it sounds too Romeo and Juliet or Rose and Jack for your taste?”
“Who’s Rose and Jack?” he asked, his brows lowering more in confusion.
“From Titanic. Remember? They knew each other for three days before deciding to risk death to be together. Haven’t you seen that movie?”
Brax’s brows smoothed and a smile of amusement pulled his lips up. She much preferred his smile over his frown. It made his rough, bad boy image soften. It was like she had the best of both worlds with him. “I haven’t seen many chick flicks.”
“It’s not a chick flick,” she protested. Brax cocked one brow at her. “Okay. It’s kind of a chick flick. But, other than the love story, it’s based on the real event, down to the timeline. Look past the mushy crap and I think you’ll like the movie.”
“Do you have it?” he asked.
Campbell pointed the remote at the TV and scanned through Netflix until she found it. “Want to watch it?” she said, side eying him.
“I can move closer?” he asked, that grin not as wide as he waited for his answer.
“I said you could.”
“Then let’s watch it,” he said, lifting and scooting until he was on the cushion beside her.
He still wasn’t touching her, but she’d fix that once they got settled in.
“You want me to go get munchies before it starts?” he asked, turning to look down at her.
Even with both of them sitting, he was still taller than her. And this close, she could once again see the brown flecks in his green eyes.
“We still have a bunch left over from your last junk food run,” Campbell said with a jerk of her head toward the kitchen.
Normally, Campbell would never expect or ask anyone to wait on her. But it seemed to make Brax happy. And it kept her off her leg, which she hoped would make it heal faster.
“Got it,” Brax said, jumping to his feet to retrieve the two bags of chips, bag of popcorn and some more soda. “Pepsi again?”
“Let’s go with Pibb this time,” she said from her spot on the couch.
Okay. Maybe being doted on wasn’t all that bad.
Setting everything on the coffee table, Brax headed back into the kitchen and filled two glasses with ice and carried them and the bottle of Pibb into the living room, setting her glass in front of her.
And then he sat on the furthest cushion again.
“I thought we already discussed you can sit closer, Brax,” she said, raising a brow at him.
A soft pink entered his cheeks as he scooted to the cushion between them, still not touching her, but at least he was closer.
Campbell pulled the bag of Doritos onto her lap then started the movie. As the credits rolled and the opening scene played out, she stretched a little more so her feet were wedged under his thighs. As he had last night, he tensed, but then relaxed, even reached over to lay his hand on her knee.
One step closer.
He’d said he’d never take anything from her she didn’t give him. That much she remembered. But she wouldn’t force him to move any faster than he was comfortable with, either. He obviously wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted nothing but to get in her panties. He wanted to get to know the woman who’d become his mate.
Mate. The term still seemed strange, even when she spoke it in her own mind. But it fit. It made sense.
And, as Brax relaxed more into her couch, even leaned over until his head rested on her shoulder, Campbell realized for the first time since she’d started dating, she wanted nothing more than to spend time with Brax.
She just hoped they’d be naked sooner rather than later.
Chapter Nine
It had been over a week since Campbell had been scratched. Over a week since Brax had told her about the mating bond. She was healing well. And they’d yet to end up in a sweaty tangle of arms and legs.
Was he waiting until she was one hundred percent healed? If so, she was at least eighty percent healed. And it no longer hurt.
As she climbed from the bed, mildly disappointed that Brax had opted to go home last night instead of staying the night – he’d come over every single night since they’d watched Titanic, and had slept on her couch three nights – her phone began to chirp on her nightstand. It could only be one of two people.
It was Brax. She’d call her mom after, although there wasn’t much to report. Their conversations had gotten remarkably shorter since she hadn’t been able to head out into the woods and hunt traffickers.
Rogues. She had to remember they were rogues, not regular, run of the mill traffickers like she’d seen on the news.
“Hey,” she said as a greeting when she put the phone on speaker so she could get up and get dressed to take Polo out. It was the first time she’d walked her dog since she and Brax had started…what were they doing exactly? It wasn’t dating. It was far more than that. But they hadn’t done anything more than watch movies and eat junk food together over the last week.
“You got plans today?” he asked and Campbell couldn’t help but smile at the flutters in her belly at the sound of his voice.
Was this what truly falling in love felt like? She’d thought she’d been in love before but had never been so affected by merely hearing the sound of someone’s voice.
“Just getting ready to take Polo out for his walk.”
“Open the door.”
Holding in an excited squeal – she really didn’t need him to know how infatuated she already was with him – she half shuffled, half jogged to the front door. Brax was standing on the porch with a rose.
Cliched, but sweet as hell.
“What are you doing up so early?”
“Remember those friends I told you about? Other than my Pride?”
He’d explained to her the differences between Prides, Packs, and Clans two nights ago. Also explained there were also flight Shifters running around, and that they were harder to identify, even to fellow Shifters.
“Yeah?”
“They’re having a cookout. Nova, that’s the Alpha’s mate in Big River, she loves to have everyone over at least once a week. They bar-be-cue, drink, and shoot the shit. This is the first time I could convince Aron and the others we needed a night off.”
Brax had had plenty of nights off, all of which he’d spent on her couch. So far, all they’d done was snuggle and hold hands while talking and watching movie after movie, even binge-watching Stranger Things.
“You in?”
Nerves sent her heart racing and butterflies ripping through her stomach. She’d gotten used to Brax. She no longer saw him as anything other than a man. Although, she’d yet to see him Shift into his panther.
But a group of nothing but Shifters? She’d be the only human. She knew there was a Fairy living among them, but she wasn’t human, either.
Would she be safe?
“What if they find out I’ve killed Shifters?”
“We’ve killed Shifters. They killed some during the fights for the females. They’ll love you. I promise. I also promise you’ll see my kind in a whole new light when you meet them. Especially after you meet little Rieka and Grace.”
“The little girls?”
He nodded.
Glancing down at her yoga pants and sweatshirt, she asked, “Do I have time to shower and change?”
“Take as much time as you need. Not like we have to be there at any certain time.”
He stepped into her home, handing Campbell the rose as he passed. He even leaned forward as if he’d press a kiss to her lips or cheek, but pulled away and grabbed Polo’s leash.
“We’ll be outside. Let me know when you’re ready.”
Leading Campbell’s dog outside, Brax pulled the door shut behind
him with a wink.
Hurrying to the bathroom, Campbell showered and applied a touch of makeup, just enough to keep her from looking like a cast member of The Walking Dead. She then rushed to her bedroom in a towel, dropping it the second she was behind her closed door, and rummaged through her closet.
She normally didn’t care what she wore in public. And being as they’d be hanging out in the country drinking beer and eating bar-be-cue, she really shouldn’t now, either. But this was the first time she’d not only get to actually hang out with his Pride without hunting, but meet the rest of his friends, as well.
Maybe they could eventually become her friends. It would be nice to have someone other than her mom, Brax, and Polo. Not that she didn’t love all three of them, but she could really use some girlfriends.
One leg in a pair of faded jeans, Campbell realized what had gone through her head. She’d used love in the same thought as Brax. Could she love him already? She wasn’t a Shifter. She didn’t form bonds as easily and quickly as they did. Yet, she’d felt the bond between them before he’d told her what it was.
Could her heart and soul already know what her brain hadn’t caught on to? Could he be what she’d been looking for without ever realizing it?
Pulling the pants over her panty clad ass, Campbell dropped onto the end of her bed and stared at herself in the mirror hanging over the dresser. Could she possibly be falling in love already?
The front door opened and closed and Brax’s deep voice carried through her door as he seemingly had a conversation with Polo. Shoot. Maybe they really could communicate since they were both animals.
Chuckling at her thought, Campbell stood and finished dressing before Brax worried she was still in pain and came looking for her. Although she knew if he caught her naked, he’d immediately turn his back on her.
It was time for Campbell to let Brax know she was ready for their relationship to move forward. She was giving herself freely, as long as he kept his teeth to himself.
Campbell chose a thick sweater, but layered it with a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath. It was colder today than it had been in a while. And she didn’t have fur to depend on for heat. She’d have to layer or end up freezing her booty off.